Star Fox Unplugged
by Foxillusion
Summary: This interesting mix between The Matrix and Super Smash Brothers stars Star Fox, as he wakes up to the true world around him. --Chapter 4 Completed--
1. Part One: Welcome To The Real World

PART ONE: WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD  
  
"We've done it, Samus. We've found him."  
  
"...I hope you're right, Gex..."  
  
"There's no need to hope. I KNOW it."  
  
Fox awoke. Slowly. He noted that he was on some type of ship's Medical Bed. He also noted that he was not wearing any clothing, with the exception of a towel draped over his... private area. He looked up. There was Gex and Samus, standing above him. Another thing which he honestly thought was a figmant of his imagination floated opposite Samus.  
  
"Am I dead?"  
  
"Far from it," Gex replied.  
  
Gex then turned to the Cloud-Thing, confirming that it did indeed exist. Fox got a better look at it now. It looked like a Fox, sure... but it was made up of grey whisps of smoke, and it was transparent.  
  
It spoke to Gex. "He still needs a lot of work."  
  
Fox was now getting worried. "What are you doing to me?"  
  
"We're rebuilding your muscles right now, Fox."  
  
"Why do my eyes hurt so much?"  
  
"You haven't used them for over one thousand years."  
  
This was too much. Fox closed his eyes tightly, and tried to block out the paining light that was beaming into his eyes.  
  
Gex saw his discomfort, and put his claw on Fox's forehead. "Rest, Fox. The answers are comming."  
  
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Days passed. Fox only opened his eyes a few times; either Gex or the Ghostly fellow was working on rebuilding his muscles using accurate laser-generators. Neither of them actually touched Fox much. However, on the rare occasion that the Ghostly one would brush him, he'd feel a cold, chilling sensation... however, that feeling would always quickly pass as Fox drifted off to sleep again. This went on for... an amount of time that Fox couldn't remember or count in any way.  
  
...Finally, Fox awoke. He lay on a bed in a small bedchamber, once again, appearing to be on a very large-sized spacecraft of some kind. He also noticed he was clothed... in nothing more than simple rags. How unfashionable, he thought. Soon after he awoke, Gex opened the door to his room and strode in.  
  
"Gex...? ...Where am I?"  
  
"More important than WHAT, is WHEN, Fox."  
  
"...When?"  
  
"You believe it's the year 2003, correct? Well, in actuallity, it's closer to the year 3003. I can't tell you exactly what year it is, because... we honestly don't know.  
  
"There's nothing I can say to you that will explain it for you. Come," he said, wrapping a blanket around Fox. "See for yourself."  
  
Gex lead Fox out of his room, and towards a ladder. Fox passed a few more doors which he could only assume lead to more bedchambers. He followed Gex up the ladder. As Fox reached the top, Gex continued, "I am the captain of this Mothership we are on. It is called the Pheonix."  
  
"A Mothership! Of course! I should've been able to tell before now..."  
  
Gex simply grinned at him. "As you probably know, this is the main deck. This is where we broadcast our Pirate signal, and hack into the Matrix. Now, most of my crew, you already know."  
  
Fox looked around. Various, familiar faces loomed at him from out of the darkness, finally comming to gather around him and Gex.  
  
"See? Here's Samus... Falco... Ganondorf... and Mewtwo. There's Kirby behind you, there. As for the two you don't know, this is Phantom, and that's Zephyr there."  
  
The Phantom he was referring to was the Ghost-Fox that Fox had seen rebuilding him earlier. As for Zephyr, she was a grey, bipedal Cat, with medium-trimmed fur and a pretty face. Fox liked her already.  
  
"Pleasure," he said, shaking both their hands.  
  
"Now, before I continue," Gex said, seing Fox start to speak, "I must tell you that just because you do not see more than these five of your friends, doesn't mean they aren't free as well. Just about every fighter you can name in the Matrix is actually a rebel from the real world. They simply work on other ships; but I am sure that a day will come when you will get to see them all again."  
  
Fox nodded. This made sense.  
  
Gex approached him, and placed his hands on Fox's shoulders. "You wanted to know... What the Matrix is, Fox?"  
  
Fox nodded. Did he ever.  
  
"Come. We'll show you, hm?"  
  
He was escorted to an old, withered seat. It hauntingly reminded him of a dentist's chair. A machine was brought up behind Fox's neck. He sensed it immediately, and started. Samus put her hand on Fox's forhead... Fox wasn't used to her touch without her armor on, and started again.  
  
"Look. It'll be okay, Foxy. Trust me."  
  
He nodded, rather meekly.  
  
Gex brought the machine right up behind Fox's neck again, and Fox let it happen.  
  
"Now... this will feel a little wierd," warned Gex. He gave a thumbs-up sign to Phantom. He typed a few keys. Instantly, a beam shot out from the machine behind Fox and penetrated Fox's neck! It electronically interviened with his brainwaves, and Fox was cut off with the outside world immediately. He let out a silent scream of shock and surprise, but not pain. Gex glanced at Phantom again, who typed in a few more keys and then hit a button labelled "LOAD".  
  
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Fox stopped his "silent scream" and looked around. He was in a white... whiteness. That's all he could describe it as. White in all directions. He spun around a few times, and there was Gex.  
  
"This is a sparring program," he said, gesturing towards the blankness. "Here, we can load anything from vehicles, to weapons, to other gadgetry... anything we need."  
  
"Are you telling me that we are INSIDE a computer program?"  
  
"Is it really so hard to believe? Check out your clothes, they're not the old rags you used to be wearing. I can immediately have a... STUNNER... appear in the middle of the air..." (At this point he glanced meaningfully upwards.)  
  
POP!  
  
There, floating before Fox, was a Stunner!  
  
"Go, try it. PREFERABLY not on me, though. I could have Phantom load a basic enemy training program if you wish..."  
  
"This... this isn't real?" Fox said, examining the instrument and firing its Laser in random directions.  
  
"What IS real?" Gex quizzed. "How do YOU define 'Real'? If you define it as something that you can smell, or taste, or feel, or see, then real is simply a series of electrical impulses interpereted by your brain! But back on topic."  
  
Gex asked for a hovering Plasma Television. He got it in an instant.  
  
"Now..." he said, switching it on. "This is the world you know, just after the turn of the century. The Lylat system, and its surrounding Universe. Now, today, this Universe only exists as a digital simulation that we call the Matrix."  
  
He flipped the T.V. off.  
  
"Simply, you've been living in a dream world, Fox. This is the Universe as it exists today."  
  
The Television flipped back on...  
  
...and a horrifying sight met his eyes.  
  
The Lylat System was GONE! Except for their sun, Solar, all its other planets had completely vanished, leaving only one large field of space rocks behind.  
  
"Gex... what... happened to us?!"  
  
"One thousand years ago, our ever-curious fleet was searching the Universe as they always do, searching for new life, new planets, and new experiences. However, around the year 2003, a new form of life was discovered that appeared unintelligent. However, trusting this new form of life was a huge mistake for our entire civilisation. These aliens were super-intelligent, extremely evolved, and mucho dangerouso, despite the fact that they were running out of energy. It didn't take long. As soon as these things had tracked our civilisation, they snatched every living creature across the System and then put the System itself to ruin. What did they use us for? Simple. Since they were running out of energy which they required to survive, the seemingly found all the energy they would ever need.  
  
"The beings found a way to hook everyone up to a large... "Power Plant", so it's called, where a beam such as the one entering your head right now extracted the creature's energy... bit by bit. This is why we needed to rebuild your muscles when we revived you.  
  
"Since these beings are so small, they need only the tiniest possible fraction of our energy per year. However, their problem was with OUR creature's aging process. Each creature that they had hooked up was injected with an Eternity Sirrum. All of them... that includes you, Fox... will never age, like them. All you require to continue living is food, and of course, natural health. Other than that... these things could feed off our energy for ever.  
  
"The alien's other biggest problem is the control of these creatures. How could they keep them in mental peace while they leeched our energy? Why, create a computer program that works on the same principals as their leeching devices, of course. It intercepts your brainwaves and tricks your entire body into thinking that you're somewhere you're not.  
  
"So... what is the Matrix?" Gex flipped off the Plasma Television. "Control. The Matrix is a program built to keep the sentiant mind under control as the aliens change a living creature..." (Gex held up a battery, therefore promoting the Duracell company.) "...Into this."  
  
Silence. Then...  
  
"WELL! This is certainly a pickle... do these Parasitic Aliens even have a name?"  
  
"We simply call them... the Gluggs."  
  
"The Gluggs?"  
  
"They are an abomonation which currently dominates all life we know of in this Universe. There really is no other name for 'em. Come on. Wouldn't YOU call a great evil "Glugg"?  
  
"Right... hey... if they're so small and pathetic, then how did they overwealm you?"  
  
"Obviously, Fox... their technology. They've built Weapons of Destruction that are beyond your wildest nightmares. For them to dominate OUR Defences was like a baby's candy being snatched away by the incredible hulk."  
  
"Interesting..." Fox scratched his chin. It made sense. It explained... everything. "So, let me guess. You can hack into the Matrix... heck, you could load it up right now around us?"  
  
"Yes. However... you must know. We can't simply be placed anywhere in the Matrix. Eh... allow me to explain elsewhere. Phantom? Load the Dojo."  
  
All too suddenly, walls... pillars... a floor... weapon racks... smaller details, like windows... swords... staves... knives... all flew in from the blankness from random directions. After about 5 seconds, it was finished flying in. Fox noticed how Gex was now wearing a Kung-Fu style clothing.  
  
"This is our training Dojo, where we perfect our fighting skills. It has RULES, similar to the rules of the Matrix. One example of these rules is gravity. Some of these rules can be bent. Others can be broken. Now, the only way to do this is to FREE YOUR MIND, Fox. Do you understand?"  
  
"Slightly..."  
  
"Now. You're trained in basic unarmed combat ONLY?"  
  
"Yes... nothing much more than that, other than... Staffplay... and of course my Weapons training..."  
  
Gex sighed. "Very well, we'll start out with that. Phantom? Load us some staves."  
  
A pair of staves appeared out of nowhere. Fox's looked just like Krystal's staff. He could almost see Samus giving Phantom some pointers out there.  
  
"Okay. Now, strike me down. If ya can."  
  
Fox charged! His staff twirling above his head. He kinda did want to take a piece out of that lizard. Why? Well think about it. Fox had all this new information thrown at him at once, confusing him. And Gex was a symbol of that, sure. So Fox felt like taking it out on him.  
  
Gex was ready for him. He twirled his staff around in a blocking manouver. Then, before Fox could react, he swept Fox down onto his behind, then kicked his back. HARD. Fox slid forwards, uncontrollably, into a pillar, which exploded into an array of splinters. Fox twirled as he got up.  
  
"Wow. You're... really fast..."  
  
"So? Do my being stronger, or faster, have ANYTHING to do with my muscles in this place?"  
  
Fox pondered this. And while he did, Gex rushed Fox this time.  
  
Fox had a new tactic. He ricocheted off another pillar behind him, and thwacked Gex in the head. Poor Gex sailed backwards and bounced off a window. It stretched like a wall-mounted trampoline and hurled Gex back into the room. Fox was ready for him, yet again. He brought his staff up and swung it downwards with ALL his might. It was like him hitting a Home Run in baseball.... except straight down. Gex plunged through the floor.  
  
Fox peered down the hole curiously. He saw only blackness.  
  
"Good!" Said a voice from behind Fox. Fox spun around to face Gex, who had somehow transported behind him.  
  
Now THAT scared Fox.  
  
"Don't DO that!" Fox said, gasping for air.  
  
"Anyways... you're getting the hang of this, Fox! Now... Phantom? Load the Jump Program for us."  
  
The room vanished. A scene rushed at them from below of the top of a building. Before Fox knew it, the pair of them were standing on the tip-top of this building.  
  
"You've got to let it all go, Fox," Gex said. "Fear... doubt... and disbelif. Free Your Mind."  
  
At which point Gex ran at the edge of the building, and without using his tail as aid, jumped.  
  
Soared WAY up high...  
  
And landed on the rooftop of the opposite building.  
  
Fox just stared. "Whoa."  
  
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The Main Deck of the Phoenix was a buzz. Everyone seemed to believe in Star Fox's strength, and thought he would clear the jump on his first attempt.  
  
Some did not. "He's not going to make it. No way," Falco and Mewtwo insisted.  
  
Every single other crew member begged them to believe otherwise. Even those who had only HEARD of Fox's great deeds were cheering for him.  
  
Well, without further ado, let's see if he does, shall we?  
  
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"Ooookiedokey. Free my mind. Free my mind... no problem! Free... mind! Me = Free! Ooookie!"  
  
(The panic was plain on the face of the Pheonix's newest crew member.)  
  
"GUAH!"  
  
Fox took off running. The Phoenix was a silent ship of anticipation right then. Would he make it? Would he fall?!  
  
As he ran towards the ledge, Fox thought about where he was. Inside a computer program! Fox had always prided himself in his Hacking skills... why, if he couldn't hack THIS thing, where would his self-pride go? He focused. His brain went wonderously clear. He felt. He BELIEVED.  
  
And he jumped.  
  
Tucking his back paws beneeth him in a graceful leap, he felt himself soar... up, up, and up. Higher than he'd ever thought possible. But what he was doing didn't seem rediculous at all to HIM, for one reason or another. It seemed as possible as scratching your head. What a wonderful feeling it was!  
  
Finally, Fox landed on the far building. He felt the roof's pavement crumble beneeth his paws as he landed.  
  
"OW!"  
  
A piece of pavement flew up and cut his cheek. He was bleeding. Fox stood up fully and walked over to Gex.  
  
"What WAS that? Why did... why DO I feel so light and fluffy?"  
  
"You've freed your mind, Fox! I can't remember any other creature that let go as fast as you have! That was incredible!"  
  
"Okay... look... I'm getting awfully hungry. If Phantom loaded us some sandwiches, would it satisfy my hunger in the real world?"  
  
"No. The Gluggs's jacks have the ability to transfer vitamins and minerals to its host. Ours do not. You'll have to go back to the real world to grab a bite to eat."  
  
"Damn."  
  
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Fox's head felt slightly woozy after they removed the "Jack" from his head. However, Samus assured him that the feeling was normal, and that it only happened at first.  
  
Fox immediately put his hand to his face... and felt the warm ooze of blood comming from the spot where the digital pavement had cut it.  
  
"You said it wasn't real!"  
  
"Your mind MAKES it real."  
  
"So... if you're killed in the Matrix... you die in real life?"  
  
"Well... the body can't live without the mind, you know. The same applies if someone severs the connection between body and mind when you're plugged in. One can't live without the other. Both die where they are."  
  
Fox groaned, and got out of the chair, only to be swamped by his crew, all of them offering their congratulations at his speedy realisation of the truth. Fox obviously had a very strong mind to be able to let go so quickly.  
  
"All right," Fox said, the ring of animals finally subsiding. "So, let me get this straight... we're basically a team of rebels that combat against these evil parasites in hopes of freeing the Lylat system once again?"  
  
"Precisely."  
  
"Well, surely you don't just go in with THIS ship and start shooting stuff around, hoping to kill them?"  
  
"No, no... of course not. What WE try to do is gain access to... The Source."  
  
"The Source?"  
  
"Where the Gluggs store all the information for their technology. Every single weapon they own that exists both in the Matrix, AND in the real universe, are controlled there. It exists in the real world, but there's a program for this place that exists in the Matrix as well. If one of us ever got into this place, we could shut down all their weaponry and technology, making the Gluggs completely harmless. We'd also see all our people freed from the Matrix, back into the real world."  
  
"Well, surely this Source isn't unprotected..."  
  
"Of course it's not! The key to unlocking The Source is hidden within a fifty-digit code. Each digit of this is stored on a disk, hidden somewhere in the Matrix. Our job is to locate each disk, decipher it, and find out what digit it is. Once we get all fifty digits, we'll stand a chance at getting in."  
  
Fox's face went pale. "Fif... Fifty seperate digits, they could be hidden ANYwhere in the universe, and you don't even know where to look?! How the heck do you even have a prayer at doing this?!?"  
  
"That's where YOU come in, Fox. You see, YOU are the One! A prophecy tells of a certain individual... that's you!... awakening after being connected to the Matrix for one thousand years, with the power to read, and to an extent, manipulate the code of the Matrix. With you inside the Matrix, as the One, you'll be able to know where the disks are hidden in an instant!"  
  
"What? I've never been able to see... CODES back in the real world! This is lunacy! How do you figure that I'M the one this prophecy is talking about?"  
  
"It was prophisised almost exactly, Fox. Predicted with uncanny accuracy."  
  
"By whom?"  
  
"The Oracle. Now, SHE has been with us since the Gluggs took over. She can see the future, Fox. She saw you emerging, and low and behold, here you are, one-hundred-percent emerged. In fact, YOU'RE going to have to go see her, so you can learn about what YOU have to do."  
  
"...Alright. That's a bit confusing, but I understand. When do we leave?"  
  
"Tomorrow, first thing. Now, we cannot distinguish between day and night in the real world, at least when we're on this ship. So you should try and get some rest back in your quarters now, before we arrive at a secure broadcast position. Oh, and as for your training? It seems your combat skills are fine, but we'll need an enemy training program or two loaded up. Find Phantom and Zephyr in a couple of hours, they'll help you out. For now, just get sleep, hm?"  
  
"Yeah... okay, thanks, Gex..."  
  
Fox walked off, feeling a bit woozy, even now.  
  
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Fox's door swung open. He glanced up from his bed to see Mewtwo, floating effortlessly into the room. Fox smiled. It seemed like a long time since he'd heard the now somewhat comforting voice of Mewtwo's that somehow existed only inside his head.  
  
"Good day, Fox. Sleep much?"  
  
Fox shook his head. "I can't... it's all happened too darn fast. Plus, I've apparently been sleeping for one thousand years or so... I just needed a while to collect myself."  
  
"Feeling better now, though, I trust?"  
  
"Yeah... I'll be fine."  
  
Mewtwo glided over to come to rest in a sitting position in the middle of the air.  
  
"Oh, yeah," Fox brought up, "Thanks for the whole... saving my life thing the other day."  
  
"Oh, that? Think nothing of it..."  
  
"But, how did you manage it? It would be impossible to manipulate all those objects at once like that. Even if you're a freemind and all that..."  
  
"Of course not, Fox. When I won the first battle I ever fought with you, I won a generous sum of prize money, correct?"  
  
"Yeah... yeah, what did you do with it?"  
  
"I used it to create a device that enhanced my psychic power. It was certainly worthwhile, too. Really... effective..." Even at the thought of the pain it caused his own head, he started rubbing his forhead.  
  
"But enough of me. Fox, do you know why you're going to see the Oracle?"  
  
"Well, um, to make me into a... er... One?"  
  
"Yes, that's right... hm. That's a lot of pressure riding on your shoulders. The whole saving-the-universe thing..."  
  
"Ah, how hard can it be?"  
  
Mewtwo's expression stiffened. "Just ask Samus, she'll tell you. It took her years to free her own mind, let alone make a building-jump on a first attempt."  
  
"Samus... Samus! Where is she right now? We never really had much time to talk..."  
  
"Never mind that now, Fox. I feel bad for taking up this much time. We have to get going. You need to get your training done."  
  
"Oh, right!" Fox had almost forgotten about it. "I'll see you later!"  
  
He sprinted out of the room. For one that seemed pretty dazed and confused, Fox still seemed to be at least as energetic as Mewtwo remembered him. Better than nothing.  
  
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Phantom spun around as he witnessed Fox sprinting into the room.  
  
"Well! Aren't you the energetic one?"  
  
"Yeah... I guess. Heck, I LOOK energetic, but the heart's really not there. I just want to be... ME again, you know?"  
  
"Well... I guess I kind of understand how you feel. See, me and Zephyr? We both escaped from the Gluggs as they tore our System apart. And watching what was your home get blasted to smitherines is something that kinda sticks with you, right? Especially since my parents were directly in the line of fire."  
  
Seeing Fox's facial expression, he said "No, it's okay. It was one thousand years ago, right? I'm over it by now. But the feeling back then was... really shocking. I swore I'd get revenge on their entire race for what they did to my family."  
  
"...And did you?"  
  
"Oh, hell yes! I was the one who led a team of rebels against their forces. We got into one of their research labs, and found out how to halt a creature's aging process. However, we didn't get the formula QUITE right, and that modification has made us quite weak... to the point where sending US into the Matrix could easily kill us. So, we stay out and operate on this ship instead, it's much safer. But... oh, listen to me ramble. You need to be trained. Sit on down, I'll take care of EVERYTHING."  
  
"All right... I've never done this before, though, you know. What's going to happen?"  
  
"Remember the other constructs you were in? It's just like that. Just watch..."  
  
With that, he activated the beam. But before he loaded the program, he faltered. Fox's head was already fluttering, so he barely heard when he called out for assistance."  
  
"Hey, Ganondorf! Come help me train Fox on the baddie program!"  
  
...But to Fox, it sounded more like...  
  
"Humph, Fafork! Mon mo tron Focks onhe baaagrm!"  
  
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So he was quite surprised when he awoke in the sparring program to find Ganondorf standing opposite him.  
  
"Hey! Ganondorf! How was the..."  
  
"Please, Fox, not now. Believe it or not, I'd rather you take me seriously, at least for now, all right? We can get all social-like once we're finished here. Now, let's get right to the chewy caramel centre of this topic... what are we up against?"  
  
"..........Okay."  
  
"Well, there are a number of different PROGRAMS within the Matrix that are designed to keep rebels like us OUT. Now, we have to evade and run from these programs as much as possible, because unarmed we really don't stand too much of a chance against them, they're just too strong. Now, the first enemy on our list... okay. Turn around."  
  
Fox obeyed. Behind him stood a big, burly, bipedal dog in a very formal suit. He also sported sunglasses, like many people he'd been seeing recently.  
  
"WHA... what the heck is this?!"  
  
"This is an Agent. They're probably the fastest, most dangerous programs that you could possibly come across in the Matrix. They can move in and out of any creature still hardwired to the Matrix. They can dodge laser fire, punch through walls, and leap incredible distances. They're more deadly than you could ever imagine."  
  
Fox shuddered. The once strange-looking dog suddenly looked quite ferocious.  
  
"However, you must remember that ANY enemy we encounter is always based on a world built on rules. Rules like gravity. What you must understand is that you can break these rules. Soon, you will be able to break them. Understand?"  
  
Fox nodded.  
  
"All right. Onwards."  
  
The Agent disappeared. In its place stood a pair of wolves. Again, bipedal; again, wearing shades. They wore long, sweeping white garments.  
  
"Oooookay... explain to me what these are?"  
  
"These two are known only as the Twins. Now, although they're not exactly... LEGAL... they are still quite dangerous. They serve an exile called The Merovingian, but I'll tell you about him when the time comes. The point is, these two are his prime thuggies. He basically sends them after us when he wants something. And he always, ALWAYS wants something. So always keep an eye out for 'em. Not really hard to miss, though, are they?"  
  
"Well... are they dangerous? What can they do?"  
  
"Well, they can become transparent and pass through ANYthing... except explosives, that is. But they've always been too clever to be nailed with any of those... even if they were, they could be reprogrammed. But that's not the point. They're still extremely dangerous. They've got rapid-fire lasers, they can wield a pen-knife with a vengance, and one is never seen without the other. And you never refer to them individually; you always say 'you guys,' or 'Twins,' or 'yo what's up mah homie dawgs.' Okay, not as much that last one."  
  
".....Right. I understand that. Anything else?"  
  
"Well, there's always the customary vampires and werewolves. I can't really give you an example, since any creature could potentially be one. You'd notice their bent-over fighting style, and rough martial arts skills. What you must remember is that the Werewolf can only be harmed by a silver bullet or weapon of some kind, that's the only thing that'll disrupt their code. The vampires can only be killed with a wooden stake to their heart."  
  
"All right. I understand. Now, what of this Merovingian character?"  
  
"Well, he's an exiled program, one of the oldest of us. He basically saves any unwanted programs and keeps them either imprisoned, or he uses them as bodyguards or what have you. He's filthy rich too; owns a Chateau in the Mountains AND a Restraunt in the city of Corneria. They're linked through doorcoding, so you can always access one location through the other. Pretty spiffy. But anyway, I digress."  
  
"Wait... what DOES the Merovingian want, anyway?"  
  
"What do all men with power want? More power. When that oppertunity arises from us, keep an eye out for Twins, Vampires, Werewolves... just about anything he can get his hands on, figuratively speaking.  
  
"And that's about it. Just remember: explosives greatly hurt, if not kill any enemy you will come across in the Matrix. Use them accurately, but carefully. Understand?"  
  
"Yes. I solemnly swear to blow lots of stuff up."  
  
" 'Atta boy. Now, let's get back to the ship. It's probably almost time to leave."  
  
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Sure enough, when they arrived back in the Main Deck, there was Gex, standing over them with a sour look and an attitude.  
  
"Well, THAT certainly took WAY longer than it should have," he said, his eyes burning into Ganondorf's.  
  
"Ah, shut it up, you. I want Fox to understand our opposition as well as possible."  
  
"That doesn't include telling Fox an Agent's favourite food..."  
  
"LOOK! Just LAY OFF!"  
  
Fox grinned. It had been so long since he'd seen Ganondorf angry.  
  
Before he knew it, Kirby, Mewtwo, Samus, Phantom and Zephyr had found their way into the Main Deck, and were preparing to jack the entire team into the Matrix to take Fox to the Oracle.  
  
Gex turned to Fox, who was still in his chair. "All set? We'll meet you in the Construct, and we'll load up."  
  
"Load up with what?"  
  
"Weaponry."  
  
This was sounding better and better. Fox closed his eyes and smiled as the beam found its way into his head for the fourth time in his life. It was time to get funky.  
  
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(*What will happen next? Will Fox meet the Oracle? Will they encounter any opposition? Will Fox wake up to his existance as an anomoly? More importantly, WILL HE GET EXPLOSIVES?! All these questions and more answered on next week's chapter!*) 


	2. Part Two: The Oracle's Truth

PART TWO: THE ORACLE'S TRUTH  
  
"Phantom? Give it to me."  
  
A table appeared before the group. There stood Gex, flanked by Fox, Samus, Ganondorf, Mewtwo, and Kirby, all of them BUT Fox sporting their stylish designer shades. And on the table sat an array of weapons. Mostly consisting of guns, there were a few small round objects Fox recognised as...  
  
"Grenades. Now, we hopefully NEVER have to use these. As you can see, Fox, we're only actually bringing two," Gex explained to Fox. "Now, no matter WHAT Ganondorf told you about explosives effecting programs... although he was probably right... we NEVER use explosives unless it's ABSOLUTELY necessarry. Usually it's just a Cornerian Force we have to deal with, which is what the guns are used for, you see? Rarely ever do we actually blow things up. You MUST understand that."  
  
"Awwww... that's no fun..."  
  
"This isn't meant to be FUN. It's meant to save our entire civilisation from enslavement. Now grab a laser and let's get on with this."  
  
Fox picked up one of the blasters from the table. This gun was quite good; one of the later models. Stunned like a power gun, but had a quick rate of fire. Pretty deadly if used properly. And Fox? He was a pro at using things like this properly.  
  
"Are we prepared? Lovely." Gex whipped out his phone and contacted Phantom. "Go ahead." He pocketed the phone.  
  
Fox was surprised to see a world rush in around him from nowhere. Walls, floors, a ceiling, and all sorts of appliances, furniture, and gadgetry flew into the whiteness from all directions, finally comming together into a sensible room. The final thing to appear was an old telephone on a table in front of the group. Gex picked it up.  
  
"We're in and ready to move."  
  
"All right, Gex. You know where to go. Our hardline back here's still good, so just get on back to this building to get out again."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Gex pocketed the phone and led his team out of the building.  
  
It was immediately clear to Fox that they were back on Corneria. The silouetted cityscape on that beautiful sky made Fox sigh. This place didn't even really exist anymore. It was just... a cruel game of make-believe. How sad...  
  
Samus read his mind. She put her hand on Fox's. "I know. It's hard the first few times back. Sad to think of what these things have done to our lifestyle, isn't it? Look at how we used to be. That was over a thousand years ago."  
  
Fox nodded. He did't know what to say.  
  
The team boarded a shuttle. This would take them through the streets of Corneria to the Oracle. Fox was actually looking forward to this visit. He would apparently be able to do all sorts of incredible things if he only knew WHAT to do. It made him nervous, and anxious, but excited all at the same time. Mix that with his confusion, sadness, and slight depression, and you've got yourself one messed-up Fox.  
  
Fox was gazing out the window of the shuttle at the passing buildings, vehicles, people. It all looked so... fake to him now. So unreal. It was unbelievable.  
  
"Unbelievable, isn't it?"  
  
"Hey, you read my mind!"  
  
"Of COURSE I did. I'm Mewtwo, you fruitcake."  
  
Fox nodded.  
  
"And stop... NODDING. You're really doing that repetatively in this story."  
  
"Sorry... I'll just shut up."  
  
"NO no no no... we've got Matrix quotes to rip off."  
  
"You're right... hey! I used to eat there! Really good noodles..."  
  
Samus turned to look at him.  
  
"I have all these memories from my life..." He said to her, "None of them happened. What does that mean?"  
  
"That the Matrix cannot tell you who you are."  
  
"And an Oracle can?"  
  
"That's different."  
  
"...You went to her."  
  
Samus nodded.  
  
"What did she tell YOU?"  
  
Samus looked back at him. "She told me..."  
  
But she cut herself off. Fox looked inquisative, but she just turned back to the window.  
  
"We're here. Fox, come with me."  
  
Fox followed Gex out of the shuttle into a building. This place reeked of old...ness. It seemed to be held together with duct tape, and it was really torn apart and used... but it still seemed kind of home-ish.  
  
Gex led Fox into an elevator near the back of the building. Heh, Fox thought. No dropshafts. What an old mess this place is. Gex pressed a number on the elevator, and it carried them up.  
  
"Sooo... this is the same Oracle that made the prophecy?" Fox asked.  
  
"Yes. She's been with us since the beginning."  
  
"Of what?"  
  
"Of the resistance."  
  
Fox nodded. "And she knows... what? Everything?"  
  
Gex smiled. "She would say she knows enough."  
  
Fox opened his mouth again, but Gex cut him off. "You know, Fox, we should just stop ripping of the Matrix again, to let the author get at least SOME creative juices flowing."  
  
"Author? What author?"  
  
"Never mind. We're here. Follow me."  
  
The elevator door slid open, and Gex led Fox out, through a series of hallways. Finally, he came to a door. It automatically opened, and Gex gestured for him to go in, saying that he would wait outside. Fox took a deep breath and entered.  
  
It seemed like some kind of... tea shop. There were tables lining both sides of it, there was a small gathering of broomsticks in one corner, and there was dust lining the wooden floor. Fox walked down the middle of the hut-style room, to approach a figure sitting at the opposite side, sipping tea. This one was an elf; it at least resembled one, perhaps with Hylian origin, like Link. He was really quite small, and was sipping a cup of tea.  
  
"Hello," Fox said to him.  
  
He stood up. "You're looking for the Oracle, aren't you?"  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"I'm Mido, her guardian. I can bring you to her. But before I do, let me first apologise..."  
  
"Apologise for what?"  
  
"For THIS."  
  
The one called Mido brought out a staff and swung it at Fox! Instinctively, he lept backwards, and snatched up a broomstick. He didn't want to shoot this guy; he just said he'd bring him to the Oracle! It was time to subdue him and FORCE him to take him there. He guessed.  
  
Fox swung. Mido dodged! However, a cloud of dust rose from the head of the broom, making Mido sneeze. Fox capitalised and launched a few staff attacks, which Mido SOMEhow got his own staff up to block. He then tried a jump-kick, Fox sidestepped this and landed a leg sweep-esque trip. Down went Mido, and his staff clattered across the floor.  
  
Fox tried an overhead swing, to finish Mido while he was on the ground. However, Mido rolled out of the way and kicked Fox's chest. Fox stumbled back, and Mido scrambled back over to his staff, and retrieved it. NOW Fox capitalised by swinging his broom with a wide horisontal attack. THIS one caught Mido on the shoulder, and he rolled across the ground. Fox finally decided to go for his blaster, but before his hand got even halfway there, Mido slapped it with his staff.  
  
"OWWWWW!!"  
  
Fox swung wildly at Mido... but he was just being careless now. Mido ducked under his attempts, and unleashed a blow to Fox's head. Fox finally jumped back, regained his composure, and... hurled the broom at Mido! It struck his head, and he soared into the back wall. However, he kicked off it after impact, and flew at Fox! Fox dived out of the way quickly, and Mido sailed headfirst into a pile of brooms!  
  
A cloud of dust and splinters later, Mido rose, shaking, from the ground.  
  
"E... *cough* ugh... Enough. Good. Again, I apologise, but I had to be sure."  
  
"Of what?"  
  
"That YOU are a potential."  
  
"Pish... you could've just ASKED..."  
  
"No. You do not truely know someone until you fight them. Please, come with me."  
  
Mido pulled of his Kokiri-style hat, and under it was... a ring of keys! Fox looked a bit puzzled, but didn't ask any questions. Mido strode up to the door Fox had come in, inserted one of the keys, and swung the door open.  
  
It wasn't the hallway Fox had come in through at all. THIS hallway was completely different. It consisted of one long... REALLY long... as in, endless-long... hallway, with doors lining each side of it. Green doors, to be exact. Except for the doors, the whole hall was white. It was pretty unnerving.  
  
But not for Mido. He had an almost arrogent stride to him, despite the utter defeat he just fell victim to. Fox just followed him, still with that same expression on. Mido then turned slightly to speak to him...  
  
"Do you know where we are?"  
  
"I haven't the faintest idea."  
  
"These are back doors out of The Matrix. Programmer exits, if you will. They can use them to get from one end of this digital world to the other in minutes."  
  
"How do they work?"  
  
"The code is hidden in the tumblers of the locks. One position opens the door normally, but another one, when a certain key is used, will open one of these doors."  
  
"Programmer exits... are YOU a programmer?"  
  
Mido shook his head. No.  
  
"Then what exactly ARE you?"  
  
Mido finally approached one door, slid a key in, and turned the lock. Before he opened it, he turned to Fox and said,  
  
"I protect that which matters most."  
  
He swung the door open, and gestured for Fox to go through. Fox entered, and was surprised by what he saw.  
  
It appeared to be a park. Situated between a few apartment buildings, this was a cemented, open space, with a few people walking around, enjoying the lovely day. However, Fox noticed more than anything a figure sitting on a nearby bench. This figure was throwing seed to a bunch of nearby birds. Fox strode towards this figure, drawn to it, almost.  
  
"Well, come on, Fox, I'm not going to bite you... come around here, and let me have a look at 'cha."  
  
The figure waited, without turning around, for Fox to come around in front of it. Oh well, he thought. Here goes nothing.  
  
He strode around in front of the figure.  
  
It was a human.  
  
Or, it at least appeared to be a human. Fox couldn't believe his eyes. A real human being! These creatures were said to be extinct for thousands and thousands of years! Fox didn't really dare to believe it, at least not just yet.  
  
It was a female, and an aged one at that, with dark skin and black, curly hair. Fox stared at her, not saying anything for a bit.  
  
"My goodness, Fox, look at you. You're certainly cuter than I thought."  
  
Now the human was hitting on him. This was getting awfully scary. Fox almost started to back away before he realised that would look extremely rude. So, despite his... fear... Fox stayed put.  
  
"I can see why she likes you."  
  
Fox opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"...And don't say 'Who?' just to keep up the Matrix quoting-spree," the human cut him off. "Feel free to let the author of this story actually come up with some dialogue."  
  
Fox relaxed a bit. "Yeah... that sounds fair."  
  
"Now, why don't you come sit down?"  
  
Fox waited for a moment. "You can see the future... you KNOW if I'm going to sit down?"  
  
"Wouldn't be much of an Oracle if I didn't!"  
  
"But if you know that, then how am I supposed to make a choice?"  
  
"Because you're not here to MAKE any choices, you've already made them. You're here to understand WHY you've made them."  
  
Fox looked at her for a bit, but finally did sit down.  
  
Fox opened his mouth again.  
  
"And I know you're really confused right now. We'll get to that. Right now, the important issue at hand is..."  
  
Fox nodded. "Am I the One?"  
  
"Well, what do YOU think?" The Oracle asked him. "Do YOU think you're the One?"  
  
"Well, I honestly don't know."  
  
"You know what that means? It's latin. It means, 'no'."  
  
Fox just stared at her.  
  
"Let me get you in on a little secret, Fox. Being the One is just like being in love. Nobody can TELL you that you're in love, you just KNOW it. Through and through, balls to bones."  
  
"Well, I can't say that I really feel... One-ish..."  
  
The Oracle gave him a withering glare. "Then THAT means..."  
  
Fox faltered. He understood. "I'm not the One."  
  
"Well, not yet, anyways."  
  
"What do you mean, 'not yet'?"  
  
"You'll have to overcome another personal barrier, Fox. You... well, your inner self, anyway... seems to be waiting for something."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"A great challenge, maybe? Who knows... you haven't seem to put yourself through enough stress."  
  
"STRESS? STRESS?! YOU THINK I HAVEN'T BEEN !STRESSED! ENOUGH?!? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, I'VE BEEN FIGHTING TO THE EXTENT OF MY ABILITY... NON STOP... FOR THE LAST TEN FREAKING YEARS!!!!"  
  
The Oracle, unfazed by his yelling, responded calmly, "Not to your extent, no. When you feel like you can fight no more... that moment when you're even on the edge of death, possibly... you'll understand. You'll KNOW. Trust me, Fox."  
  
Fox was breathing heavily now. He couldn't believe his ears. He had been fighting all his life as hard as he could, and apparently, even THAT wasn't enough.  
  
The Oracle smiled at him. "I said TRUST me, Fox. You'll know. You always do."  
  
Fox slowly nodded. All right, he thought. We'll see about this.  
  
"Yes," the Oracle said suddenly. "We WILL see, won't we?"  
  
Mido approached her from the side, and laid a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"We must go."  
  
"Our time is up," she said. "Listen, Fox. You have to do little more than what is meant for you. All I can tell you is... BELIEVE in yourself, Fox. Don't listen to anyone else; listen to YOURSELF. Understand?  
  
Fox nodded again.  
  
"Good," she said. "Best of luck, kiddo."  
  
The Oracle was lead back through the "magic" door. Mido stepped in himself, bowed, and closed it behind him.  
  
Right after it shut, Fox heard a cawing of birds behind him. Curious, he turned around.  
  
It was an Agent. The ruthless, savage computer program Ganondorf had warned him about.  
  
"Mister McCloud," he said.  
  
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Outside the Matrix, Phantom was fidgiting in his chair.  
  
"Run, Fox. Run."  
  
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Instead of running, Fox did the unthinkable for a rebel in this situation... believed in himself, turned around, and faced the Agent.  
  
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"What is he doing?" Zephyr asked Phantom.  
  
"He's beginning to believe."  
  
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Fox hesitated only for an instant... and CHARGED at the Agent! Fox immediately hit a triple-punch combo, dodged around behind him, hit a double-kick, then leaned back and wailed him with a massivly hard punch.  
  
The Agent didn't move.  
  
"Damn it."  
  
The Agent turned and blasted him backwards with a single punch. Fox flew across the park and smashed into an apartment building's brick wall, crumpling to the ground. Lying there, in the dust of the incinerated portion of wall, he thought, well. This should challenge me.  
  
Fox lept up! The Agent approached him! Fox quickly Illusioned behind him, pulled his blaster, and fired for all he was worth. However, his... weak blaster only really gave the Agent damage percentage, as opposed to knocking him back. Ergo, the Agent approaced again, more menacing than ever. He was just about to reach Fox to attack when...  
  
Fox pocketed the blaster, jumped up... really, really high up... and came back down with a sumersault-kick. The Agent actually staggered a few steps backward! Seeing his advantage, Fox quickly dashed forward, hitting two consecutive chin-kicks, followed by his Smash attack! The Agent staggered back a bit more! Finally, Fox charged up for a Fire Fox...  
  
Uh-oh. There was more than one Agent here... three, in fact. Two had grabbed Fox from behind a millisecond after he started charging his attack. They were about to throw him backwards when he activated his Reflector! Both Agents were blown off in opposite directions, leaving Fox facing one tired, dazed Agent. Fox tried charghin his Fire Fox once again...  
  
Oops. He had underestimated the Agent once again. Fox didn't even have time to partially charge the Fire Fox before the Agent hit a single "Field Goal" kick that sent Fox flying way, way, WAY up... at least five stories... before slamming back down to the ground, creating a small crevice in the pavement.  
  
The other two Agents joined the first, and the three of them approached the crevice Fox's carcass had made as it made contact with the pavement.  
  
Lying there, breathing very... very slowly... and eventually, not at all... Fox wasn't moving.  
  
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"Phantom. He's killing him. Get a hold of Gex NOW!!"  
  
Phantom wasted no more time. He made the call.  
  
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Gex's phone rang. Gex, still waiting in the apartment building, answered it.  
  
"Problems?"  
  
"Ye... no. No, there's not."  
  
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Fox had sprung to his feet. For the tiniest fraction of a second, he wondered how. But then, he understood. He KNEW.  
  
Fox was The One.  
  
The Agents looked confused. During their hesitation, Fox got a good look around. He could see the Matrix... not a realistic simulation, but a code. Not only that, he understood every line of it. He noticed the three Agents there. Three programs. My, their coding was interesting. It was very complex... it seemed to be able to temporarily replace any other mind's coding in the Matrix. Well... oh, shoot. No more time for thinking. The three programs were now approaching Fox. Well, he thought. Time to test-drive this baby.  
  
He walked over to a nearby sign ("Pick up after your pet!"), grabbed its pole, and yanked it right out of the concrete. One Agent approached him... LARGE mistake there... and Fox just swatted him out of the way. The sign itself flew off the pole, and some of the cement stuck to the end shattered off into powder. The Agent himself flew backwards through a fence and onto a road, where he was struck by a transport. His program immediately left its host body.  
  
The other two Agents stopped short. They observed Fox with... was it possible? Uncertainty. Fox twirled the pole around in his hands, and beaconed to them. A challenge.  
  
No way could they just stand there like idiots NOW. Fox had just taunted them. Time to remove the system of this rebel.  
  
Fox swacked each of them in turn, helicopter-spun over them, and ran to challenge one Agent. He floored him with a wheel-hit, then smoothly turned and smacked the other Agent out of the air, who was attacking from behind. Fox suddenly looked out to the road and saw his target... a gasoline transport. Fox hit BOTH Agents sky-high, jumped up and struck them similtaniously into the transport. It exploded the instant they made contact, terminating both of them.  
  
Suddenly, the other Agent that had been hit before returned. Fox hadn't blown HIM up, so his code hadn't disemminated properly. He returned in a new body.  
  
Wait... something told Fox he didn't have time for this. He dropped the pipe, crouched down, and took off. Flying. Effectively breaking the rules of the Matrix, as he knew he could.  
  
Flying, leaving the Agent gazing up in his direction, away from the smouldering remains of the transport and the other two Agents. Towards... Gex's code. He flew straight towards the building, flipped, and landed gracefully on its roof. From there, he took the stairs down to Gex's level.  
  
Fox approached Gex, who appeared to be hanging up his cell phone.  
  
"I'm finished."  
  
"So I've heard. Phantom tells me you put on quite a show back there. Are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine. I wasn't really... but I'm fine now. Let's go. The Gluggs, remember?"  
  
"Right, they'll be tracing us. More Agents are the last things we want. Time to go. The others are waiting."  
  
The duo proceeded down the hallway, to the stairwell again. Gex started down, but Fox grabbed his shoulder.  
  
"No... let's go this way."  
  
Fox led Gex up to the roof, grabbed his collar, and took off flying again. Gex's eyes widened in shock and amazement as Fox flew him through the clouds of Corneria's bustling cityscape, finally landing him down in front of the building where they jacked in.  
  
"Whoa whoa whoa WHOA! I asked the others to meet us here! Where are they?"  
  
"You don't suppose..." Fox trailed off.  
  
The two glanced at each other. Fox suddenly took off flying again, up into the Cornerian sky.  
  
Gex called Fox on his cell phone. "Fox! What can your One eyes see? Can you find their code?"  
  
Fox glanced at the descending green symbols that formed the shapes of buildings, transports, shuttles, and ships. Finally, he spotted them... a cluster of differently-coded individuals. Their signals were NOT comming from the power plant, but from a remote location. He immediately recognised Samus's hair. Hey, he was her boyfriend! He could notice this kind of thing from a distance.  
  
"It's them. They're moving... fast. And..."  
  
Fox spotted a code trailing theirs, one he recognised from before.  
  
"...They've got themselves some Agents on their tail. Gex, keep the hardline clean, I'm going after them."  
  
"...Fox!... Be careful."  
  
"But of course, good Gecko."  
  
Fox closed his phone and flew towards his friends. There, through the clouds, he spotted them. A number of Cornerian Defence Shuttles were on their tail, and leading those shuttles was a different shuttle... but with a different coding inside of it. Agents. Two of them. One driving, one taking shots with a Stunner... that Stunner's coding was set for "Fry 'Em Alive". These guys weren't foolin' around.  
  
Fox descended... descended... down onto a skyscraper to witness the chase. How could he get them out of there without harming too many civillians? ...And then he had the answer.  
  
Swooping down towards his friend's Shuttle, he focused his mind on the coding of the road behind it. He was able to alter it to the point where a large chunk of the road rose up from the ground, creating a large, lumpy roadblock. The chasing Shuttles crashed in a heap, and the Rebels were able to escape. Fox breathed a sigh of relief. They'd head over to the hardline now. Time to meet up.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Finally, the group of them were standing back in the room they started out in. They were all standing in a semicircle around this old-style phone, waiting for Phantom to connect to it. It was an awfully strange-looking situation.  
  
It rang. Each of the rebels in turn took up the phone, put it to their ear, and dissintigrated into it, returning to the real world. Finally, it was down to Fox and Gex.  
  
The phone rang. Gex gestured towards it.  
  
"You first, Fox."  
  
"No... I insist."  
  
Gex picked up the phone, answered it, and disappeared. Milliseconds after, a bullet struck the phone, destroying it. Fox spun around to see who the culprit was that ruined his hardline.  
  
His question was answered in seconds...  
  
CLICKLICKITTYCLICKICKLICKLCICKCLICK.  
  
About fifty handguns were now pointed at Fox's head, held by Cornerian Defence officers. In the lead was an Agent.  
  
Fox's head hung. "Oh, MAN..."  
  
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	3. Part Three: The Merovingian

PART THREE: THE MEROVINGIAN  
  
"Mister McCloud," the Agent said, "Welcome back. We MISSED you."  
  
Fox glared at them for a moment, then Focused. Time around him slowed to a crawl. Fox lept up and over the Agent in a forward flip, and landed a kick to the back of his head. The Agent flew forward through the table and the now-broken phone. The other officers opened fire on Fox... but he was ready for them.  
  
Still Focusing, Fox backflipped, avoiding the first barrage of bullets that came his way. He then jumped sideways, kicked off the wall, and sailed back the other way across the room. Yet more bullets wizzed by him on every side. Fox pulled out his own Blasters as he landed and fired, dropping a few of the Officers. However, it would take seemingly forever to stop all of them this way...  
  
Fox sighed. "Enough of this..."  
  
He put up his paw. The rest of the bullets that were fired simply stopped in midair before they even reached Fox.  
  
The Officers stopped firing, in complete disbelief.  
  
Fox LOWERED his paw, the small collection of bullets falling to the floor with it.  
  
The Officers just ran at that point. Fox turned around to face the Agent, who was just getting up from the huge blow he had suffered to his head. Reeling slightly, he glared at Fox.  
  
Fox glared right back, fearless. The Agent charged! Fox ALSO charged! Fox drew back his fist as he ran, and connected with a swift blow to the Agent's chin. He sailed upwards through the roof and out of sight.  
  
Fox sighed again. He pulled out his phone and called Phantom.  
  
"Hey, Phantom. They took out the phone."  
  
"I know! You're going to have to find another hardline... unless..."  
  
"Unless what?"  
  
"Unless you'd like to do some work while you're in there."  
  
"What kind of work?"  
  
"Oh, come on, Fox. The Disks, remember? As long as you're in, you might as well. Our ship still has plenty of energy, and there's no sign of any opposing forces anywhere back here. Why not fly up and take a look around? See what you can see."  
  
"All right... if you're sure..."  
  
Fox soared skyward again. He swivelled around, just below the clouds, looking for such a Disk. However, he couldn't locate any such coding offhand. He would have to move a bit.  
  
"Phantom? I'm going to fly South a bit. The Cornerian Ministry of Defence is there. If there's any such Disks stored on this planet, there's a good chance they'll be there."  
  
"All right... just... try to stay in some cloud covering, all right? You're a wanted animal. They've got the entire System looking for you. Be careful."  
  
Fox shut the phone, pocketed it, and took off. Fox then tried something he never tried before; he soared up, up, WAY above the clouds. Heck, flight shuttles were still miles below him. He continued to soar Southwards, still tactically avoiding shuttles, ships... anything that might spot him and recognise him. Finally, he reached his destination.  
  
Fox looked downward. Yep, there was the Ministry, all right. A large building situated at the heart of bustling Corneria City, the Ministry was very big and very intimidating. However, it wasn't even the building itself that caught Fox's eye. He looked towards the edge of the City, where a large field spanned. Right there, he noticed...  
  
The Great Fox.  
  
His ship for years on end. It was there, right there! All his friends... all those that were still in the Matrix, anyway... were in that Ministry of Defence!  
  
Ministry... Ministry of Defence! Shoot. Fox had to get in closer to see if a Disk was located in the Ministry! There was no time to worry about friends now... well, there WAS, but it would be too unsafe... the last thing Fox wanted was attention. Resisting the screaming, inner urge to go to his ship, Fox swooped closer to the Ministry.  
  
Sadly, Fox was frustrated by failure. The coding for the Ministry was extremely heavy; he wasn't able to see what was within it. He would have to sneak into the Ministry instead.  
  
Fox picked up his phone. "Phantom! I'd like to get into that building! I can't see past the code."  
  
"Oh, there's an idea. Just WALK RIGHT INTO your enemy's BASE. Good thinking, Fox..."  
  
"What? I could take all those guys in there with one paw."  
  
"Yeah, great plan. Just eliminate all of Corneria's defences. Lovely. That's JUST the thing we need."  
  
"Oh... right... the Gluggs would know it was me..."  
  
"Yuh-huh... they'd send their entire army after us in the real world! Fox, listen. You're going to need to get inside that building eventually. Just... not now. It's broad daylight. Just get back here, please? I've got another hardline set up so you can, on Maine and Wells."  
  
"Fine."  
  
Fox hung up his phone, frustrated. Not really at the 'No Entry to Base' situation, but the 'Can't See Your Friends Ever Again' situation. If he had snuck in, he might've been able to see them again... make sure they were all right... assure that they were all still free, as opposed to inprisonment. Heck, the Ministry was nothing but a load of idiots. Fox could see it happening.  
  
So, instead of searching, he just left.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-  
  
Fox awoke. He looked around at his team, who were unhooking him from his chair.  
  
"Well? Is there ANY sign of enemy activity?"  
  
"None whatsoever."  
  
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but in an hour or two, I'll be ready to head back in. Hey, there's fifty disks out there, surely they're not secured in that one building."  
  
"Well, of COURSE they aren't... Fox, listen. Remember Ganondorf talking to you about the Merovingian?"  
  
"Yes... yes, I do."  
  
"Well, he controls all sorts of illegal programs in the Matrix. He's the really big, powerful outlaw that controls all sorts of illegal programs. He'll undoubtedly be in control of at least one of these disks. We can get in to see him in a few hours."  
  
"Perfect. See you then. I want some more training..."  
  
Fox left the room, all eyes following him.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Fox hadn't been training for TOO long when Samus came to check on him. He was hooked up to a training simulation program, much like the Matrix. This program was basically a large, peaceful rock garden. Fox really liked this Garden; this was apparently where Gex had always trained when he was a rookie rebel. It was a quite well-structured program, complete with rock-benches, a river running through one end of the garden, and a wooden bridge connecting the two parts of the garden. It was also complete with some other large impressive rock-structures.  
  
Fox was sitting in one area, surrounded by stones, in deep concentration.  
  
Suddenly, a rock bounced off his head. Fox toppled over.  
  
"You call THAT concentration?"  
  
Looking up through blurry eyes, Fox saw Samus standing over him, tossing a stone up and down.  
  
"Hm! I didn't think you'd have the guts to come back to challenge me after that swift defeat on the Infinite Glacier."  
  
"That, dear Fox, was an act of pure mercy after having beaten you... how many times before in training? Gosh, I guess I lost count when it hit double-digits."  
  
"THAT, dear Samus, was typical of the codding members of my sex must bestow upon members of your sex to cajote them into playing."  
  
"Oh yeah, that's it. You've done it again. You'll eat those words and half the rocks in this garden."  
  
Samus then whipped the Stone she was tossing at Fox, who swiftly caught it. He then beconed.  
  
"Come awn, Samus. MAKE me."  
  
Now Fox had REALLY done it. He'd taunted her before their fight had even begun. Time to take out the trash, she thought.  
  
It was Samus that first rushed, executing a spinning heel kick that Fox barely ducked under. She jumped up to try a toe kick to his head, but Fox rolled under that as well. She landed, with Fox behind her. He swiftly started into a Fox Illusion, and swept past her, knocking her into the air. He quickly started up his Fire Fox to finish her off, but Samus pegged him with a Missile before he could, and then rushed him and shoulder-bashed him backwards. Fox flew, spinning, and landed hard on the bumpy surface.  
  
"O-O-OWWW!"  
  
Fox lept up, and rushed back at Samus, going for a jumping kick. She rolled under this, and as she did, let off a few bombs. Fox caught fire and couldn't put himself out until he rolled into the nearby river. He shook himself off, and noticed Samus charging him... he whipped out his blaster, dove sideways, and fired off a few rounds. Samus tripped because of this, and landed face-first in the crystal-clear water of the river.  
  
Fox stood over her. "Had enough?"  
  
"Of course not, silly."  
  
She kicked him from her spot on the ground... her foot connected squarely with his jaw, and he sailed backwards through one of his rock-benches. It shattered into two halves.  
  
Fox lept up again. Time to get serious. He lept into the air, sailing over Samus's head. He kicked off a pillar structured out of rock and rebounded right at Samus; striking her with his paw and sending her flying backwards. As he landed, he started to charge up the Fire Fox for the second time... unfortunately, Samus was able to shoot off another quick Missile before he could finish, and she landed safely on her feet. The second she did, she started up with a Charge Shot. Fox dashed at her to stop her, but instead of waiting for it to fully charge, Samus shot Fox with it 3/4 finished. This was still enough to knock Fox backwards, off his feet again. Samus dashed forward before Fox could react and nailed a Screw Attack! Fox flipped back down to the ground.  
  
Augh... no WAY could Fox lose to Samus after those pre-practice words! Fox backflipped back up, kicking Samus's chest protecter as he did, sending her stumbling backwards. Fox then started up the Fire Fox for a third time... but this time, as Samus retaliated with a Missile, Fox was ready. He cancelled the move and switched on his reflector as soon as the Missile was about to make contact, and instead of hitting HIM, it flew back and struck Samus! Once again, Samus was dazed, giving Fox the exact opening he had been looking for. He charged the Fire Fox...  
  
And hit it! Samus flew backwards and struck the rock pillar, which cracked, and tumbled to the ground. Samus was defeated.  
  
Quickly, Fox ran over and pulled her up.  
  
"Damn... you ARE good, Fox."  
  
"You're not BAD... you're just a little distracted," Fox said to her.  
  
"Yeah... I suppose so." Samus removed her helmet, allowing her sleek blonde hair to flow down from within it. How beautiful, Fox thought.  
  
They sat down on an... intact rock bench.  
  
"Hm... made a mess of your garden..." Samus said, looking around at the scene they had created.  
  
"Hey... I kinda like it," Fox responded, smiling.  
  
"...Fox, can I ask you a serious question?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"What happened to you? All I know is that you were stranded on the Control Ship as it exploded. How the heck did you live?"  
  
"Mewtwo."  
  
"What? HE saved you? How?"  
  
"He used a couple of Bombs and an Arwing, and a few... short-worded instructions, but he got me out."  
  
"That's impossible... he'd only have had a few seconds!"  
  
"Precisely."  
  
"A miracle... a complete miracle that you're still alive. I can't tell you how grateful I am."  
  
She snuggled up to Fox, which, despite her clunky armor, was appriciated by Fox nonetheless.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"All set?"  
  
Fox had made his way back to the main deck, and was assembled with the rest of the crew. He, Gex, and Samus were to jack in to visit the Merovingian. Of course, without an appointment, it wouldn't be extremely easy. But then, nothing much that they did anymore WAS.  
  
Phantom rolled the beam up to Fox's neck. "Good luck, buddy."  
  
Fox nodded in thanks as Zephyr activated the computer. Fox felt his mind float from his body...  
  
*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-  
  
And became aware of him, Gex and Samus standing back in that white construct.  
  
"All right, guys. We can't take any weapons to go see the Merovingian, that'd look intimidating, and we don't want ANY of his programs to go thinking that. We WILL need a Transport, though..." Gex looked meaningfully upwards.  
  
And a Transport came, bulding itself out of nowhere, out of nothing. Suddenly, walls, a ceiling, a floor, furnature... a telephone all rushed in as well. The phone rung.  
  
"We're in fine, Phantom. We'll call you when we get there."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Another transport ride later (Fox refused to fly, he wanted to conserve his energy) the trio disembarked in front of a glamerous building. It was many stories high, and its outer walls were completely made of tempered glass; so Fox could see the Cornerian skyline reflected in its massive size.  
  
"Let's go," Gex said.  
  
They entered the front lobby. This place was as large as the building's size suggested, and Fox recognised the coding used in most of the wall and floor details as marble. Since the place they were going to meet the Merovingian in rested on a higher floor, the three entered one of the numerous elevators that lined the room. Another group of people approached to enter the elevator; Gex simply shook his head, and they stopped short, their curious gazes disappearing behind the swiftly-closing steel doors.  
  
Gex spoke the second the doors closed, inquiring about the building's base code.  
  
"What can you see, Fox?"  
  
Fox couldn't quite make out what it was. He knew it was a program, yes, but what kind, he wasn't sure. It seemed different... encrypted, maybe. Not only that, but every floor of this building was wired with explosives. Whee, he thought.  
  
He voiced this to Gex. "Well then... that's not the greatest news. Oh well... here we go. Get ready..."  
  
The trio walked out of the elevator towards the Restraunt, the Merovingian, and of course, their first Disk.  
  
*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-  
  
Zephyr spun around in her chair. Right now she had little more to do than wait for the three of them to be finished, and well, she was bored. She decided to pester Phantom for awhile with random gabber.  
  
"So, what do ya think of this Fox we've picked up?"  
  
"Incredible... did you see his movements? So fluent and precise... I really can't see how we'll lose this war now!"  
  
"Yeah, that's nice, but what do ya think of HIM?"  
  
"What? Well, he's a nice enough guy, I guess... he DOES need time to settle in... now, would you please? I'm trying to work. Go bother somebody else... the entire rest of the crew is in here somewhere just WAITING for you to lighten up their day with... what was it the author called it? 'Random Gabber'."  
  
"FINE," Zephyr sighed. "Geez. You're NO fun at all..."  
  
Zephyr trapsed down to the crew's chambers. She checked each one... yup. All of them were training. There were SOME advantages to not being able to use these brain-type programs... this was NOT one of them.  
  
Zephyr charged back up to Phantom. "They're all busy. Heh heh... it's a bad day to be you..."  
  
Phantom groaned. This would be long and...  
  
"Wait! Zeph! Check the radar! What is that?"  
  
She did so. "I don't know! Is that some kind of..."  
  
"...hostile? I don't know," Phantom finished. "I haven't seen anything like that before... what could it be? It doesn't appear friendly OR nasty..."  
  
"Hmmm..."  
  
"What? Can you get a visual of it? What does it look like?"  
  
A screen flickered on as Zephyr fiddled more with her keyboard. An image of a long, serpant-like robot came into view. It didn't appear to be doing anything nasty, though.  
  
"We CAN'T be too careful."  
  
"Right. I'll call them... wait. They're in with the Merovingian. It'd be just too rude to interrupt that... you know what he can be like."  
  
"Of course. They'll be outta there in five mintues or so anyways..."  
  
*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-*-.~^~_-  
  
The trio had made their way up to the front desk of this restraunt. Like the lobby, it was quite glamerous. Fox wasn't used to this much class; he'd never got anything like that when he'd been doing solo work for the Cornerian department. He had to struggle to get by.  
  
"Hello," Gex said to the host, "We are here to speak with the Merovingian."  
  
"Well, of course," he replied, "He has been expecting you. Follow me."  
  
The host led the trio into the restraunt. It was magnificant! It was set in one large room, with a main hallway cutting it in half. This 'hallway' was lined with pillars constructed of dark green marble. The floors and walls were mostly constructed of this same material, but Fox was moreso aware of the numerous tables on each side of the restraunt, filled with customers. At the front of all this was a very long table, at which was seated a line of important-looking people. Fox got a glimpse, but only a glimpse, of the one sitting at the head of the table. That face... he'd seen that face somewhere before...  
  
No matter. Fox went back to examining the room. In an offset corner he saw a collection of... thuggies, if you will. Bodyguard programs designed solely to protect the Merovingian and his property. Fox recognised a pair of them that stood out... Twins. They were sitting with their backs to him at the moment, but for some reason, he still felt that they were watching him. Wierd.  
  
Well, the trio WAS being watched, without a doubt. Many pairs of eyes followed them as they advanced onwards to the head table. It wasn't them that fazed Fox... it was those Twins.  
  
Or was it the Merovingian himself? Fox's attention turned back to him. Fox got another good look at him, and gasped.  
  
It was Wolf. Star Wolf! Fox's old nemesis... how had he gotten so much money?! If Fox didn't have the whole "indestructable One" reputation to keep his jaw would be hanging open in awe. Wolf smirked a bit as they approaced.  
  
"Ah, here he is, McCloud! The One himself... and the legendary Gex as well... and Samus of corse, so beautiful she makes me suffer... I have heard so much! You honor me, please, sit, join us. This is my wife, Persephone," he said, gesturing to a wolf sitting at his left. She was indeed quite pretty, and Fox actually had to force himself to avert his attention back to the Merovingian.  
  
"You know why we are here," Gex said.  
  
"Hmmm," he nodded. "I am a trafficker of information, I know everything I can. The quesiton is... do YOU know why you're here?"  
  
"We're looking for a Disk."  
  
"Yes, yes, it is true... the Disk, of course. But this is not a REASON, this is not a `why.' The Disk itself, its very nature, is means, it is not an end, and so... to look for him is to be looking for a means to... do... What?"  
  
"You know the answer to that question," Fox said.  
  
"But do you? You think you do, but you do not."  
  
"What? We want to disable the Glugg's technology!"  
  
"Oh... well, not only did you prove me wrong, you bashed another set of Matrix quote rip-offs. So onwards and upwards. You'd like me to just give you this piece of information that you require? And why exactly should I do this? Fox has ALWAYS been my enemy, and now suddenly you have associated yourself with him, this has not put you very high on my "liked people" list... yes, well. I have something you need. NOW the question is, do you have anything I need? No. No, you do not, at least, not at the present time... you have nothing I would like. You have access to nothing I require. And so... I see no reason to give up the disk to you. No reason at all."  
  
Wolf stood up to leave at this point, seeing the conversation over.  
  
"This isn't over," Fox said.  
  
"Oh, yes it is!"  
  
"Really? Aw..."  
  
Wolf disappeared through a door in the back of the room. Immediately, the programs from the corner of the restraunt came over to escort the trio out. One guard reached forward to lay a hand on Samus's shoulder.  
  
Without turning around, she snapped back at him.  
  
"Touch me, and that hand will never touch anything again."  
  
Finally, the trio was escorted to the elevator again, where they were dispatched of with a menacing glare from the Twins.  
  
"Well, that didn't go so well," Fox said to Gex.  
  
"Hm. How're we going to get past him? He's got at least one disk in his control."  
  
"Maybe we said something wrong," Samus offered.  
  
"Or DIDN'T say something."  
  
"No," Gex cut Fox and Samus off, "What happened happened and could not have happened any other way."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"We are still alive."  
  
"Yeah. Wonderful."  
  
The elevator doors suddenly slid open, although they had not yet reached the ground floor again. The reason for this was soon exposed... as Persephone the wolf came into view as the doors vanished from view.  
  
"If you want the disks, follow me."  
  
She led them into a lavatory (that means a bathroom, silly)... a MEN'S one, at that.  
  
"GET out," she said to the only person in there. He swept out, cussing.  
  
She strode over to a mirror, started fixing her fur and began talking immediately. "I'm so sick and tired of his bull. On and on... pompus prick... a long time ago, when we first came here, things were so different... HE was so different..."  
  
She looked in the mirror at Fox's reflexion.  
  
"He was like you."  
  
She turned to face them again, looking at Fox.  
  
"I'll get you what you want, but in return, you must give ME something."  
  
"What?"  
  
"A kiss."  
  
Samus's expression went furious. "Excuse me?"  
  
"I want you to kiss me, as though you were kissing her."  
  
Fox tilted his head. "...Why?"  
  
"You LOVE her. She loves YOU. It's all over you both. A long time ago, I knew what that felt like... I want to taste it... I want to SAMPLE it. That's all... just a sample."  
  
Samus raised her cannon and aimed it at Persephone's head. "Why don'tcha sample THIS instead?"  
  
"SAMUS," Gex said warningly. Samus didn't budge.  
  
"How can we trust you?" Fox asked her.  
  
"If I don't get you what you want, she can kill me."  
  
"All right."  
  
Fox rolled backwards, and Samus jumped in front of him, her cannon now pointing against Persephone's head.  
  
"NOW. As you said. If you don't get us our disks, you will die, right here, right now. What's it going to be?"  
  
Persephone looked shocked. Samus had an almost evil smile on her face. Gex looked neutral. This COULD go either way, really. He decided to just let it play out.  
  
"Very well, you got me. Should've phrased that better. Now, follow me."  
  
As Persephone led them out, Fox traded a wink with Samus. Even for the sake of the entire Lylat population, he didn't betray his beloved. This would be one to remember.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
CONTINUED NEXT CHAPTER 


	4. Part Four: No Rest For The Weary

PART FOUR: NO REST FOR THE WEARY  
  
Persephone, a bit rattled, led the trio out of the bathroom, down a hallway, up a flight of exquisite stairs, and through the restraunt's kitchen, filled with numerous chefs and waiters preparing and sweeping meals out into the restraunt itself. Persephone, however, led them past all this, and brought them to a set of double doors that separated the kitchen from a pantry. She closed these doors, inserted a key into them, turned it, and opened them again.  
  
The pantry was gone. In its place was a massive Hall! Fox's gears turned in his head as he remembered Ganondorf talking about this place... how the Merovingian owned a Chateau in the mountains... how his properties were connected using coded doorways. They were in the Cornerian mountains.  
  
And in this amazing Chateau! Its entrance hallway was absolutely stunning, filled with stone statues, sweeping stairways lined with numerous antique weaponry, and a large crystal chandelier in the middle of it all. Fox was once again awed. Just how much money HAD Wolf managed to get his paws on?!  
  
Persephone led them through one of the doors on the main floor. This, after a hallway of sorts, brought them to a small bookshelf-lined room. Scattered throughout the room were cushy armchairs and sofas for sitting in. A plasma screen was on one wall, which was currently on. Two creatures were sitting watching this screen. At the sight of the trio, they jumped up.  
  
"It's alright, boys, they're with me," Persephone said to the creatures. They relaxed a bit.  
  
"These are my husband's werewolves," she said, gesturing towards the two creatures. "They do his dirty work. Here's Cain, and Abel's over there. They're very good... very loyal. Aren't you, boys?" She said, addressing them.  
  
"Yes, mistress." They replied in unison.  
  
Oh boy, Fox thought. Whipped.  
  
"They come from a much older version of the Matrix... but like many other programs like them, they caused many more problems than they solved. My husband saved them because they happen to be notoriously difficult to terminate."  
  
She took up her handbag and pulled out a blaster. Samus's Canon hand tensed up.  
  
"How many people have Triple-Plasma settings on their guns?"  
  
She fired a beam of it, in the opposite direction of the trio. The noise was deafening; books fell off the shelf behind the werewolves, and one of the chairs tipped over. The noise subsided... and one of the werewolves (the one called Abel) had a small piece burned out of his ear. He sank to the floor and howled in agony.  
  
She then rounded on Cain, whos terrified eyes travelled from his writhing partner on the floor over to Persephone again. "You can either go and tell my husband what I have done, or you can stay there and die."  
  
He charged out of the room in search of Wolf. Persephone slipped the blaster back into her handbag and headed towards one of the stray bookshelves. Samus's gun hand did not even slack a bit. Now she knew that the wolf kept a gun in her handbag. This was more serious than she thought.  
  
Persephone stepped over poor Abel and made her way towards one bookshelf. She pulled out one specific book on the end of one of the middle rows. The shelf right next to it swung forwards with a resounding creak... a secret passage.  
  
"Come, quickly."  
  
They didn't need telling twice. With one last glance back at Abel (still on the floor) the trio followed Persephone through the passage behind the bookshelf.  
  
There were stairs... down... down... that seemed to stretch for ages...  
  
Numerous tunnels, branching off... left... right... left...  
  
Fox's head spun. Had he not locked a clear view on the back of Persephone's head, he would have been lost completely. It was too darn confusing.  
  
Finally, the group reached a large, long tunnel, shaped like a half-cylinder. Cut into the walls of this rounded passage were doors... no... cells. Prison cells. Fox now became aware of numerous tired groans, sighs, calls for aid. Nothing TOO desperate... the prisoners seemed on the brink of death.  
  
"This way."  
  
After walking down the passage for awhile, she finally reached one specific cell. She gestured for Fox to go inside it. He did so, slowly at first...  
  
...But after swinging open the old-fashioned, rusty, grimy door, he found an almost empty chamber. Stone walls and a floor stretched for no more than three meters in each direction. However, lying in the middle of this cell was...  
  
A disk. Fox recognised the code, as well. No mistake, this was what they were looking for. He picked it up and pocketed it.  
  
He swept back out to the group. "We're finished here."  
  
"All right... follow me."  
  
Persephone led them back... back through the prison hallway... back through the secret passage... through the book-room (Abel had disappeared), until...  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
They emerged into the Great Hall... just as Wolf, a group of Bodyguard programs, the Twins, and Cain stepped through the Restraunt-Chateau portal.  
  
"AUGH!" He said the moment he saw Persephone leading them around with his own eyes. "Good god, Persephone, how could you do this to me, you BETRAY me, you..."  
  
She cut him off. "Enough of this! I don't have the patience or time to quote more Matrix. You have stopped caring for me at all as of late... you ONLY care for your power! I've had just about enough!"  
  
She stormed out of the Hall to the Restraunt, leaving Wolf standing there, miffed.  
  
"Very well... very well... let us find out where this goes... you two," he said, gesturing towards the Twins.  
  
Their heads rose in unison.  
  
"Get the disk."  
  
Fox stepped backwards. Gex realised Fox was planning to get away, with the disk.  
  
However, before he could, the Twins seemed to... almost turn to a white, phantomy state. They passed through the floor, and disappeared from view.  
  
"That's a nice trick," Samus remarked.  
  
Suddenly, a pair of forms appeared from behind Fox! One of them reached forward, quickly pick-pocketed the disk, and the two of them dashed backwards through another door that lead to the Chateau's Garage hallway.  
  
Fox started to step backwards to persue, but first glaned forwards at Gex.  
  
There wasn't much choice left for him. Gex asserted himself, and nodded back towards Fox, who, although quite worried, finally raced back through the Chateau's Garage Hallway to persue the Twins. Samus stepped out beside Gex, who strode forward with her to face the rediculously difficult challenge ahead of them. A row of heavily-armed bodyguard programs, to be exact.  
  
"Kill them," Wolf said simply.  
  
And kill them they did. This was accomplished by the ten or so guards, plus Cain, pulling out blasters and firing them at will.  
  
The two of them flipped backwards. The double staircase extended towards the second level of the Great Hall, where they were currently flying. Blaster shots whizzed by them left and right, but none made contact. The two landed on the second floor unscathed, and ducked behind the rail for cover as the guards blew the last of their ammunition.  
  
Over seven hundred shots fired... and all of them missed.  
  
"O-KAY, so you have SOME skill..." Wolf snarled at them.  
  
They stood up, and gestured their hands forward. A challenge.  
  
"Well? You shouldn't need GUNS to take them down!" Wolf said to his gaurds. "Kill them!"  
  
The guards didn't need telling twice. They flipped up to the second floor, while some of them raced up the two staircases. The first two to reach each Samus and Gex fell victim to their concealed laser weapons... one shot to each one's head, dispatching them instantly. The other nine stalled a bit. Did they have anything left in those?  
  
Apparently not. The two threw the lasers as hard as they could at their opposition, followed by them charging. Gex hopped over a group of them, rebounded off the wall with his tail, while grabbing one of the antique swords lining the walls. The rest of the guards suddenly realised this as well, and made for the walls to grab something to fight with.  
  
Samus shoulder-bashed her first enemy, and fired off a round of missiles at another pair, knocking them back. She charged her cannon and blased Cain off the second floor down to the first, where he lay. However, her gun wasn't strong enough to despatch of him completely... she only paused a moment to ponder this. She was shaken out of her temporary lack of concentration by a dagger spinning right past her head. She turned and launched herself at her attacker, who immediately fell to her Meteor Smash... literally. He was launched halfway into the flooring, where he stuck, unconcious.  
  
Gex was engaging in a sword duel with another pair of gaurds, quickly knocking one's weapon into the other, and launching his own weapon into the chest of his adversary. Both were down. Gex turned to flip over another guard who attacked from behind, and he tail-whipped him as he landed, bringing him down. He glanced over at Samus, who was charging the last standing guard, and he joined her, approaching quickly from the other side. The poor guard could only stand and watch as the two attacked from either side, finally sandwiching him in attacks until he was brought to the floor.  
  
Wolf folded his arms and cursed. "Dammit, woman, you will besee the end of me... Cain! For god's sake, end this already..."  
  
Gex and Samus then turned to Cain, who was getting up off the floor. Persephone was right, there was no way they'd be able to actually defeat Cain... they didn't bring strong enough weapons.  
  
But they were going to try anyway. Squaring his shoulders, Gex lept off the second floor to the first, followed milliseconds after by Samus.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Fox was chasing the Twins through a seemingly endless hallway of doors. Simply one pair of double doors, followed by another small room with ANOTHER pair of double doors. This pattern repeated thirty or so times, which DID slow Fox down considerably... the Twins could simply drift through these doors by going phantom-y... Fox had to bash each set of doors open himself. Finally, he got sick and tired of this, after about twenty or so rooms, and he just floated up and flew through the remaining ones, catching up to the Twins.  
  
They glanced over their shoulders at once to see him flying towards them, getting ready to strike them down. They phantasmed through him, reappeared, and they each pulled out a small Beam Dagger. They moved forward to attack Fox. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a full-size Beam Sword of his own, which he spun out of raw code.  
  
"Hm... this job DOES have its advantages, doesn't it?"  
  
He struck, swinging the Beam Sword through the two of them. They phantasmed through it, and struck out with their own weapons. Fox ducked both of these, and tried to leg-sweep his opponents as he slashed once again. They hopped over his leg, phantasmed through his sword, and then one jumped forward to swing the other Twin over his head to attack. Fox just barely sidestepped this, and he swung out thrice with his sword... all three of which they phantasmed through. Okay, this was getting irritating.  
  
Fox raised his hand, and the two Beam Daggers flew out of their hands and into Fox's. He dropped his own sword and quickly brought a dagger up to each Twin's neck.  
  
"Look, this is getting boring. Give me the disk."  
  
They just grinned at him and disappeared again. Fox cursed... WHY didn't he just end it there when he had the chance...  
  
The two flew slowly through a wall in the Chateau's Garage Hallway. He bashed through a nearby door to find himself in a parking lot of some kind... though he could tell that the door he had just passed through was a portal, meaning he was back in the Cornerian city... probably in the Restraunt's parking lot. The Twins emerged right beside him, and they made for one of the transport shuttles in the lot. Fox spun himself a blaster and shot the shuttle just as they approached it... it exploded. In their phantom forms, they still were blown back, and fell into unconciousness, reappearing again.  
  
Fox swept forward and retrieved the disk, and turned to head back to the Chateau. However, the door to the Chateau was swinging shut... Fox rushed to keep it from closing... but it was too late. The door clicked... and locked itself shut, closing the portal. Fox tried to bash it open anyway.  
  
It led to a stairwell. Curses, he thought.  
  
Fox brought out his phone, and called Phantom.  
  
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.  
Phantom answered the call.  
  
"Hey, Phantom... look, I'm real sorry, I..."  
  
"You let the portal close. Right, I know. I'm not going to be able to get them out of that Chateau... the code is all sketchy, I can't get a patch on any of their communications devices. You'll have to fly out and pick them up."  
  
"What? I can't lug them out here myself! I'll need a ship! Where am I going to get a ship at this..."  
  
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.  
Fox stopped short, a smile spreading across his muzzle.  
  
"Never mind," he told Phantom.  
  
"Yeah, before you go, there's one more thing... we've got some kind of unknown long, serpant-like robot thingy floating around out here. I'm afraid it's going to eat me at any moment. Couldja hurry up and get them outta there?"  
  
"Well, can't you just blast it?"  
  
"Naw, all our power is routed to keeping you guys in there! Engaging a weapon would sever the connection and kill everyone connected to a digital environment... and hey, everyone else is training, too, so... well, you'd all die."  
  
"All right, I'll make this quick."  
  
Fox shut his phone, stepped forward, and raised his paw. He concentrated.  
  
A series of raw code lines flew together... they spun and rotated and well, didn't make sense at first, but Fox, whose brow was furrowed with determination, forced the code into the shape of... a ship. And not just any ship, either...  
  
It finished, a fully functional craft. Fox hopped in, and flew off towards the Cornerian Mountains.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
It would have to be a team effort... subduing a Werewolf to the point of unconciousness would not be easy. Gex lead in the attack, springing up and bringing his tail down onto Cain, who simply knocked it aside and hit Gex to the floor. However, this left him open for attack, as Samus implanted a number of Missile shots into his cranium. He staggered back, as Gex rose to his feet, and jumped forward with yet another Tail Attack, finally knocking the Werewolf to its knees. Gex flipped around behind it, snatched his forepaws, and tied them up behind him with his tail. He struggled to break the hold, but failed to notice Samus charging from the front...  
  
WHAM!  
  
She lept up and delivered a spinning kick to Cain's face! Cain fell backwards, and slid a few meters on the floor. Wolf's eyebrow raised and he stared at Cain in exsaspiration. He sat up almost immediately, growling, and started morphing into his Werewolf form! Samus and Gex stepped back a bit at what they were beholding.  
  
It wasn't quite a wolf that stood before them... it was much more hideous. This werewolf had long, shaggy grey hair, reeeally sharp jaws, and his eyes shone bright red. Gex and Samus couldn't help but step backwards even more. Even with the both of them, it didn't seem possible that they would be able to win.  
  
"Fox? I'm really sorry to bust your bubble, but we could really use some..."  
  
SMASH!!  
  
An F-Thirty had just rammed through the front doors of the Chateau!  
  
Fox, of course, was flying the machine. He witnessed the event while slowing it down with his mind, he could see the doors and part of the wall submitting to the F-Thirty's solid-structured form and hurtling inwards upon the unsuspecting occupants of the hall. One door caught the onlooking Wolf in the back of the head and he fell forwards, knocked out by the blow. The other skidded towards Samus and Gex, who cleared it with a pair of jumps. Cain, however, was not so lucky. Fox flew the ship straight towards him and struck him head-on! Cain flew upwards, back over the balcony's rail and crashed to a halt against a marble statue against the far wall.  
  
Slowing and landing the ship, Fox opened the cockpit. "...Should I crack a generic door-breaking-down joke? Or should we just GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE?!"  
  
They didn't need telling twice. Samus and Gex dashed into the F-Thirty, and Fox flew back out through the new doorway he'd created just seconds earlier. Wolf was just waking up from the blow he had suffered earlier, and looked after the ship vanishing into the mountains in rage. He'd repay them for what they took from him...  
  
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.  
"...Aaaand it's uploaded!"  
  
"Good work! Get a start on that, Zephyr, see if you can get it decoded."  
  
Gex smiled as Zephyr took the uploaded information and began to hack it, searching for the digit.  
  
"Shouldn't take more than a week of work... provided you give me my periodical snack breaks."  
  
"If by periodical you mean every two minutes, then no."  
  
"Rrg..."  
  
Samus's eyes suddenly flickered open in her seat.  
  
"Got her out," Phantom said. "You can disconnect her now."  
  
The beam into her head disappeared. She sat up and glanced over at Fox.  
  
"So waddya think it is?" Fox had just woken up, and was still lying in his chair. He gestured out the front window of the Pheonix at the snake-robot.  
  
"We're still not sure. As soon as we get Gex back out of there as well we can get our scanning and weapon systems back online, and deal with it properly."  
  
"Wow,,, it takes THAT MUCH energy to broadcast a Matrix hack signal?"  
  
"It does. However, if we're able to defeat the Gluggs we'll be able to study their technology and learn how to bypass that problem."  
  
Fox got up from his chair and turned from the rest of the room.  
  
"What is it, Fox?" Gex's eyes had sprung open, and he was sitting up.  
  
"Well, I mean, look at all this work... all this just for one single letter or number. It seems like such a useless prize... plus, there's still forty-nine of those we have to search for, get out, AND decode like this!"  
  
"...But just THINK of the reward! Every creature in the universe freed from eternal slavery; plus, infinite life! Once we defeat the Gluggs then ALL of us could get a hold of that formula and become immortal... heck, operators like Phantom and Zephyr who've chosen a Matrix-free life in exchange for this could strengthen themselves enough to be able to use our current mind manipulation technology..."  
  
"Most of us ARE already, thanks to them..."  
  
"By studying their technology we could make huge advancements ourselves... our ship's power level being one good example... if we could just subdue them or eliminate them, we could become just as intelligent as they are!"  
  
"I suppose... this all sounds really nice and everything, but... just the amount of work. Ugh, I miss our smash tournaments..."  
  
"You might not need to worry about that, Fox!"  
  
"...What?"  
  
Gex and Fox turned from their conversation to Phantom, who had spoken up.  
  
"There's another individual smash tournament comming up in the Matrix! It's advertised in the Cornerian database... it looks like all your old friends are entering!"  
  
"Whoa! Thank the lord, none of them were thrown in the slammer..." Fox sighed. "Wish I could enter..."  
  
"Well, hey, you could!"  
  
"How? I'm an outlaw there now, remember? I couldn't enter a tournament..."  
  
"All we need is another identity for you. New name, new voice, change your residual self image... maybe a different fur colour... how 'bout white? I've always liked that... maybe more of a dirty grey..."  
  
"...You could do that?!"  
  
"Well, yeah, of course! Your self-image in the Matrix is just the mental projection of your digital self. Using our technology..." he patted his moniter in satisfaction, "...we're able to alter that projection into anything you wish. You could turn into any form whatsoever."  
  
"Wow! That's something else... but shouldn't you guys be beating me down for wanting to enter some regular tournament back at home? ...Hey what's the prize in this tournament, anyway?"  
  
"Well, it's on a request basis... but it's being hosted by Leon, a lone exiled program who USED to work with Wolf but went solo, organising and collecting and such. I'm sure he's got his share of bounty... you could probably sway him into putting a... disk up for grabs, perhaps?"  
  
"You think he'd let go of one that easily?"  
  
"Well, he'd... take a bet, I'm sure. But for a disk, you'd have to bet something pretty precious for if you lost the tournament. Plus, I don't know what the stipulations are. You might be fighting in a four-foot layer of coleslaw, for all I know..."  
  
"Don't worry about what we're going to wager on my victory. I've thought of just the thing..."  
  
"Hey! Fox! Gex! Get up here!" Zephyr was calling them from the top deck. The two of them scrambled up the ladder onto the upper deck of the Pheonix.  
  
Fox had never been up here before, and it was quite a sight. This was where most of the manual weapons were controlled. A large glass dome was lined with manual laser canons all around the edges, and a raised pillar in the center. On it was a desk and a series of moniters, assumedly for scanning and tracking. Fox and Gex climbed the short ladder up to Zephyr, who was looking at the scanner.  
  
"You see that snake? That's definitely a Glugg machine. It appears to be a newer form of scouting device..."  
  
"Damn. They know were we are. We can't linger here any more." Gex grabbed the ship's communicator from the desk. "The snake's a scout. We're probably going to have company any second. Get the ship's engines going, let's get OUT of here..."  
  
"We're in a mothership, aren't we? This thing is LOADED with weapons! Can't we take that snake out?"  
  
"Oh, we can take the snake out with no problem. Trouble is, it's already found us here."  
  
"Speaking of which..." Fox scratched his brow, "Where are we right now?"  
  
"Well, since the entire System was destroyed, it's hard to say. We're probably around the area where Aquas used to be located."  
  
"Haven't you ever travelled outside the System's boundaries?"  
  
Gex waved his hand. "I'll explain this part later, Fox. We've got to run, remember? ZEPH! Take that snake out, he's lookin' at us funny."  
  
"THANK you! Thought you'd never ask..."  
  
With a wide grin, Zephyr lept off the platform and fell on the deck (on all fours, of course, like the cat she was). She strode over to the canon facing the snake, and let loose.  
  
TSEWW! TSEWW!  
  
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!  
  
The snake was vanquished with a quick shot to the head and tail respectively. It exploded in sequence, the firey outbursts moving from its ends to meet in the middle. The remains floated outwards from the force of the explosion.  
  
"Come on! Someone will have heard that, even if they hadn't found us before..."  
  
Gex's expression went from shock to wonder. "You're scary when you're happy..."  
  
Zephyr just grinned and slid down the ladder back to the main deck.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The Pheonix had made it away from any more conflict. Surprisingly enough, they hadn't come across any more Glugg activity, which was, as Gex said, a rare occasion. They had made it to Sector X, and most of the crew turned in for what they called on the Pheonix "night", which was really whenever they wanted it to be. During a spare 8 or 9 hours the crew would turn off all the ship's lights and switch on the auto defences, and get some well-deserved rest.  
  
Fox went back up to the second deck and looked out through the dome into the starstudded space that surrounded them. Looking around, he saw that the X-shaped nebula still existed. That and a few fragments of rock... that was all he could see.  
  
"It is pretty beautiful, isn't it?"  
  
Zephyr had ascended the ladder to stand beside Fox. "Can't sleep?"  
  
Fox shook his head. "Still can't. Haven't since... I got back. I figure, I've slept for the last thousand years, now I'm making up for it..."  
  
Zephyr nodded. The two sat down on a metal bench at the base of the radar platform. "I guess I've never been like that. Phantom and myself escaped the Gluggs before they... you know... enslaved everyone. We fought the Gluggs together on so many occasions, we freed all sorts of people... we became immortal, but I guess Phantom told you that story."  
  
"Well, fleetingly, really... but yeah."  
  
"Way back in the day, we headed a team of rebels that used stelth and our own advanced technology to deliver as many blows to the Gluggs as we could muster. We were... almost considered heroes, you might say. Once we became operators on this ship, we became much less physically involved. Much less... useful, it's seemed. ...Lord!" She laughed. "I must sound like an old lady right now..."  
  
"Well you are over one thousand years old..."  
  
"Aaah, but I'm still young, Fox. I've loved every bit of life that I can get, I've never grown tired of it... just... I wish things could be like they were. I wish sometimes that I didn't choose to take that formula, that I could connect to the Matrix, that I could again fight alongside other rebels and free everyone and deliver a blow to the jerks that killed everyone I love..."  
  
"Hey, come on! Someday we WILL beat them! We'll be able to make your mind stronger so it can handle being manipulated again, so you can connect to whatever you want!"  
  
"That's just it, Fox. I never thought we'd do it, before, I thought we wouldn't be able to pull it off. But now, we have you... we have hope..." her eyelids fluttered. "You know, all of a sudden, I'm quite tired..." She slowly slid sideways, towards Fox.  
  
"Now that you mention it... I wasn't when we got up here, but I'm actually getting there..." Fox slid downwards as well. Zephyr's head came to rest on Fox's chest, and he laid back, holding her close as the two cuddled and drifted invoulentarily into sleep.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
TOOWTOOOWWWWTOOWW.  
  
The lights in the Pheonix flickered slowly on. Gex had just woken up, sleepyeyed, and flicked on the lights. Heck, if he was awake after that little sleep, everyone else would suffer with him. He decided to ascend the ladder that led up to the second deck, just to have a look around, make sure there wasn't any man-eating slugs out the window.  
  
His head poked up above the deck's floor. He looked up; the stars were nice and pretty... then again, they ALWAYS were. He also observed the large X-shaped nebula off in the distance; one of the few things that survived the Glugg's tyranny. He groaned. Well, might as well wake everyone else up.  
  
Wait a second... what was that noise?  
  
Gex clambered up the ladder and onto the deck. He walked around to the other side of the dome, where the platform was obstructing his view, and found...  
  
...Star Fox. He must've fallen asleep here, poor fella... this was all happening to him way too fast. Ah well, he supposed he would just let HIM sleep, he certainly earned it. With a yawn, Gex went back to the ladder and descended it.  
  
And as he did, Zephyr lept down from the platform she had been hiding on. "He's gone!"  
  
"Excellent..." Fox's eyes sprung open from his false slumber and he got up. "That might've been awkward. Well, we should probably get some breakfast... you go first, I'll wait a bit, hm?"  
  
"Of course... see you later, Foxy."  
  
She descended the ladder back downstairs. Fox couldn't help staring at her beauty which he'd really only just...  
  
...What the HELL was he doing!? The impact of what he had just done had finally whalloped Fox in the head. How did that happen? He fell asleep with another girl! For god's sake, he was in love with SAMUS, not Zephyr! But... ... Fox's brain was spinning in his head like an oversized top. He didn't really know HOW he felt. He never really got terribly far off the ground with Samus... but now... maybe if he...  
  
"Fox! We're going to head back towards Venom airspace! We're going to head back into the Matrix."  
  
Fox made a childish groan. "Alreadyyy?"  
  
" 'Fraid so. Well, I wouldn't worry yet, anyway."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
Gex turned out to be the bearer of unhappy news as he climbed the ladder to join Fox. "That was a quick awakening, by the way... just a moment ago I saw you asleep."  
  
"Oh! Yeah, I'm still kinda zonked..." Fox was relieved he didn't see Zephyr leaving. "So, why should I be not worrying?"  
  
"Well, it'll take a while to get within broadcast distance. The Gluggs have formed their base near where Venom used to be, which is kinda fitting because that planet has always seemed to be pretty darn evil. Anyways, the closer we get to the planet, the more ability we have to hack it. So that means we can either get you in and out quicker if we're closer, or we can send in more people at once. Though when we're closer in we're more vulnerable to attack, so that balences out... hey, you want some toast?"  
  
"Yeah, sure, I'm kinda hungry."  
  
Fox followed Gex out of the dome, while casting one more questioning, pained look at the large bench where he and Zephyr spent the night together.


End file.
